Front safety thrust-block for ski binding



y 1969 H. REUGE ET AL 3,445,123

FRONT SAFETY THRUST-BLOCK FOR SKI BINDING Filed April 17,1967 I sheet or;

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United States Patent 3,445,123 FRONT SAFETY THRUST-BLOCK FOR SKI BINDING Henri Reuge, Les Replans, and Ren Bonhote, Sainte- Croiag, Switzerland, assignors to Reuge Socrete Anonyme, Sainte-Croix, Vaud, Switzerland, a SWISS company Filed Apr. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 631,251 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Apr. 18, 1966, 5,611/66 Int. Cl. A63c 9/085 US. Cl. 280-11.35 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A front safety thrust-block for ski binding having a base plate carrying a pivot, a jaw support for the front part of the sole of the shoe which support may move relative to the pivot and a ball latch elastically holding the support on the base plate. The front safety thrustblock comprises two inserted pieces of a harder material than that of the support, one of these pieces presenting a nose and being disposed in a correspondingly shaped housing of the support, in a plane parallel to the base plate and passing at about half the height of the said support, and the other piece being mounted in a recess of the pivot so as to engage the nose of the first piece when the block is in a supporting position against the front part of the sole of the shoe.

The present invention has for object a front safety thrust-block for ski binding, comprising a base plate carrying a pivot, a jaw support for the front part of the sole of the shoe which support may move relative to the pivot and a ball latch elastically holding the said support on the base plate.

It has been found that in this type of block, there occurs an untimely release of the block in the case of sudden shocks or vibrations. Moreover, when the effort exerted on the block by the shoe nearly reaches the release effort, the block is in a position of unstable equilibrium and may be released by a lesser etfort, if the skier has not fallen and tries to maintain his equilibrium.

The present invention aims at overcoming these disadvantages, and the front safety thrust-block which is the object thereof comprises two inserted pieces of a harder material than that of the support, one of these pieces presenting a nose and being disposed in a correspondingly shaped housing of the support, in a plane parallel to the base plate and passing at about half the height of the said support, and the other piece being mounted in a recess of the pivot so as to engage the nose of the first piece when the block is in a supporting position against the front part of the sole of the shoe.

The accompanying drawing shows, by way of example, two embodiments of the block object of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a section along line 1-1 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a plan view partly in section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are plan views similar to FIG. 2, in two operating positions.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of the second embodiment in section along line 5-5 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a section along line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a section along line 7-7 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 of a variant.

The thrust-block shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a base plate 1 carrying a pivot 2, a support 3 for a jaw 4 for the sole 5 of the shoe, this support 3 being movable relative to the pivot 2. A ball latch 6 elastically holds the support 3 on the base plate 1 in the position shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

The movable support 3 is of moulded plastic material, sold under the trademark Delin, a polyoxymethylene, resistant to shocks and cold. One could obviously manufacture this support in injected aluminum or any other light metal. Two inserted pieces 7 and 8 of a harded material than the support 3 are associated in a movable manner the one with respect to the other as will be described later on.

The piece 7, for example of hardened steel, consists of a recessed plate having a nose 9 directed inwardly as shown in plan in FIG. 2. This piece 7 is disposed in a housing 10 of corresponding shape provided in the support 3 and extends in a plane A-A parallel to the base plate 1 and passing at about half the height of the support 3, which corresponds approximately to the height of the sole.

The other piece 8 is constituted by a hardened steel leaf and is held in place in an axial slot 11 made in the pivot 2 by a plate 12 tightened by means of a nut 13 screwed on the pivot 2. This plate 12 also holds the piece 7 and thus, the support 3 on the pivot 2. The nose 9 of the piece 7 normally bears against the rest piece 8 and the notches 9 on either side of the nose 9 serve to guide the movable support 3- when the nose 9 escapes from the rest piece 8 as shown in FIG. 4.

The ball 6 is pushed elastically in a seat 14 of the base plate 1 by a spring 15 the tension of which is adjustable by means of a screw 16.

The shoe exerts a thrust in the direction of the arrow B in the plane AA passing through the guiding piece 7 and the rest piece 8. This thrust takes place at about the same height as that of the sole and is balanced by the reaction of the rest piece 8 so that the friction of the movable support 3 relative to the base plate is reduced and any jamming is thus avoided.

In the case of twisting of the foot, the shoe may exert a side thrust such that, for the thrust-block described, the ball is released from its seat to place itself in the position of FIG. 4. This position corresponds to the release of the pieces 7 and 8, the nose 9 leaving the piece 8 and the notches 9' guide the piece 7 and thus support 3 forward and following an angle thus permitting the instantaneous disengagement of the shoe.

In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the same reference numbers designate the same members as in the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

The ball latch 6 is here mounted between the pivot 2 and the front end of the block, the ball being pushed elastically in the seat 14 of the base plate 1 by the spring 15 the tension of which is adjustable by means of the screw 16.

A leaf spring 18 is disposed between the pivot 2 and the support 3 to recall this support to its starting position after it has been moved into a release position. This spring 18 bears, on the one hand, against a flat part 19 of a socket 20 surrounding the pivot 2 and on the other hand, against the walls of a housing 21 made in the base of the support 3. The socket 20 could be omitted and the fiat part 19 formed directly on the pivot 2.

The operation of this second embodiment is the same as that of the first. During the release movement, the spring 18 is put under tension by being compressed against the socket of the pivot 2. When the shoe is disengaged from the block, the spring 18 automatically brings back this block to its engaged position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The safety thrust-block described has the advantage of being of extremely simple and economical construction. It is stable against unintentional release, that is to say that when the effort exerted on it by the shoe nearly reaches the release effort, the block resumes its normal position and does not remain in unstable equilibrium. This is important because the block is not released by a weaker elfort, as is the case in a position of unstable equilibrium, when the skier has not fallen and seeks to regain his equilibrium.

The jaw is fixed on the support 3 in an adjustable man ner and its shape permits of avoiding the use of metallic plates or other accessories on the shoes.

The thrust-block described may comprise a device indicating the force of release, being provided with a dial visible on the body or case of the block. This device indicating the pressure of the ball 6 may be similar to certain devices employed in particular in machine-tools and comprises a toothed wheel integral with the adjusting screw 16 in gear with another toothed wheel placed in the lid of the block. This wheel makes one revolution for six revolutions of the adjusting screw for example, indicating six degrees of release force.

The block described has, moreover, the advantage to avoid, for the skier, being obliged to bring back by hand the released block. Further, the spring 18 also opposes itself to an untimely release of the block in the event of sudden shocks or vibrations.

In the variant of FIG. 8, the spring 18 is replaced by two blocks 22 of compressible elastic material, for example rubber. The elasticity of these blocks has the same effect as that of the spring of FIG. 7, however natural or synthetic rubber has the advantage of having a shockabsorbing effect in particular on transverse vibrations. The two blocks 22 are fixed to a blade which rest on the flat part of the socket 20 as shown or on the fiat part formed directly on the pivot 2, in the case where socket 20 is eliminated.

What we claim is:

1. A front safety thrust-block for ski binding, comprising a base plate carrying a pivot, a jaw support for the front end of the sole of the shoe which may move relative to said pivot, a ball latch elastically holding said support on said base plate, a guiding steel piece having a nose disposed in a correspondingly shaped housing in said support in a plane parallel to said base plate and passing at about half the height of said support, and a rest steel piece mounted in an axial slot of said pivot to .4 engage the nose of said guiding piece when the block is in a supporting position against the sole of a shoe, a plate holding said guiding and rest pieces in place, a nut screwed on said pivot for tightening said plate, said plate holding said support on said pivot.

2. A thrust-block according to claim 1 having elastic recall means comprising blocks of compressible elastic material disposed between said pivot and said jaw support to bring back said support to its starting position after it has been moved to a release position.

3. A thrust-block according to claim 2 wherein said elastic means comprises a leaf spring bearing against a flat part of said pivot and against the walls of a housing provided in said jaw support.

4. A thrust-block according to claim 1 having elastic means comprising blocks of compressible elastic material mounted on a plate bearing against a fiat part of said pivot between said base plate and said guiding and rest pieces.

5. A thrust-block according to claim 1, wherein said jaw support is a synthetic resin moulded material.

6. A thrust-block according to claim 1 wherein said guiding piece is a recessed plate, inside which projects said nose adapted to enter into contact with said rest piece.

7. A thrust-block according to claim 1 wherein said ball latch is mounted between said pivot and said jaw support.

8. A thrust-block according to claim 1 wherein said ball latch is mounted between said pivot and the front end of said block.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,027,173 3/1962 Beyl 280-1135 3,107,102 10/1963 Ramillon 28011.35 3,188,104 6/1965 Magnin. 280--11.35

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,326,431 4/1963 France. 1,359,294 3/1964 France. 1,381,869 11/ 1964 France.

377,703 6/1964 Switzerland.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner.

J. A. PEKAR, Assistant Examiner. 

